


An Unconventional Christmas

by Lilsciencequeen



Series: Christmas 2017 [4]
Category: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (TV)
Genre: Academy Era, Christmas, Christmas Fluff, F/M, SHIELD Academy Era
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-21
Updated: 2017-12-21
Packaged: 2019-02-18 02:00:20
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,519
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13090053
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lilsciencequeen/pseuds/Lilsciencequeen
Summary: “Fitz?” came Rupert’s voice from the other end of the line. “I don’t want you to freak out, everything’s all going to be okay but Jemma’s in hospital.”





	An Unconventional Christmas

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Monkeybum1723](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Monkeybum1723/gifts).



> Because we have a whole headcanon dedicated to this

She woke up in the early hours in the morning, and her chest felt like it was on fire. It felt as if it were caving in on itself, a horrific crushing sensation that made it hard to breathe.

She sat up in her bed, gasping and trying to get a breath in, trying to fill her lungs with oxygen. She knew that this was to do with the chest infection that she had had for the past few days. The one that she hadn’t been able to shake for the past few days, and it seemed in the hours since she had gone to bed, it had gotten much much worse.

She called out to her parents, hoping that they could hear her, hoping that they would be able to hear her voice though it was breathless and soft. She hoped that they would be able to hear her before the darkness overtook her, the darkness that was lapping at the edges of her vision. Tears also blurred her vision as the pain became overwhelming and she really really wanted it to stop. She really wanted her parents to come in, to make it all better for her.

And thankfully, they did hear her, her dad coming charging into her room to see what was wrong. He sat on the bed with her, cupping her face in his hand. “Jem,” he whispered, staring at her. “Jemma, what’s wrong?” There was a sense of fear in his voice as he spoke, as if he were worried about her. A small voice told her of course he was worried about her, that he was her father after all and she had just called for them in the early hours of the morning, unable to breathe.

“I can’t…” she gasped. “I can’t breathe.” It took so much effort, so much energy to even get the words out, and all she wanted to do afterwards was to pass out.

He turned to look at his wife, a look of horror passing between the two of them. “Call an ambulance,” he whispered, and she nodded, exiting the room to get to the phone. Rupert turned back to his daughter. “Can you walk?” He was still cupping her face, and used his thumb to gently wipe away her tears.

“I don’t…” she began, before giving up, knowing that it was useless to even try, so her father lifted her into his arms, wrapping her in a blanket as he did so. It was after that her memories were hazy, nothing more than fragments, nothing more than smoke.

She remembered her father carrying her down the stairs, wrapped in a blanket to try and keep her warm (she was shivering a lot) and her mother worrying and fussing over her once they got down the stairs, begging her to stay awake, at least until the ambulance came. Pleading with her to stay awake. 

It was so hard though, so very very hard to stay awake and all she wanted to do was to sleep. To sleep and forget about the pain that was there. To forget about the pain that had been overwhelming her and burning her up from the inside.

She was so close to allowing the darkness to overwhelm her when the ambulance came, when she was transferred into it.

When the darkness did finally take over her, she had an oxygen mask over her face and was being rushed to the nearest hospital, her father squeezing her hand and telling her that it would all be okay.

***

He didn’t expect a phone call at 4am in the morning from Jemma’s father. He would never have expected it but there was just something about it that made him anxious, so he reached over, accepting the call.

“Hullo?” he asked, his voice heavy with sleep. He threw his other arm over his face, covering his eyes and wanting nothing more than this call to be a mistake. And to able to go back to sleep.

_“Fitz?”_ came Rupert’s voice from the other end of the line. _“I don’t want you to freak out, everything’s all going to be okay but Jemma’s in hospital._ ”

“What?” he asked, sitting up. All the tiredness and sleep that had been in him vanished instantly upon hearing the words, upon hearing that Jemma wasn’t at home, that she was in hospital (the _hospital_ of all places) but he listened intently as Rupert explained what had happened, as he explained how Jemma’s chest infection had gotten so much worse overnight leaving her unable to breathe, so she had been taken to this hospital as a precaution, but she was fine now, that she was sleeping and that they were hoping to discharge her when the afternoon came.

“Okay, thanks thanks,” Fitz said, glad that he had been told just what had happened. “Yeah, yeah I’ll… yeah great. Thanks again.”

Hanging up, he leaned back against the wall, knowing what he had to do, knowing where he had to go. He couldn’t very well leave Jemma alone in hospital on Christmas Day. Sure, she had all her family. But she would still be alone.

So he pushed himself out of bed and slid on a pair of jeans before grabbing a hoodie and heading towards the stairs.

“Leopold James Fitz. Just where do you think you’re sneaking off to at 4 in the morning?”

The sound of his mother’s voice caused him to spin. He sighed, looking at her standing there, hands on hips and tartan dressing grown loosely fastened.

“Sheffield?” he tried, and his mum just shook her head.

“You don’t even drive!”

_Ahhh,_ he hadn’t even considered that. “It’s Jemma… she was… she was rushed to hospital. Chest infection, left her unable to breath. I couldn’t… I didn’t want to leave her alone.”

“Awwwwwwww,” his mother whispered, suddenly entirely sympathy. “Poor wee thing. You go get the car started and I’ll go get dressed. I should have a spare box of shortbread in the house. Can’t be going down without something now, can we?”

Fitz just stared after her as she pottered off, frozen for a few moments before shaking his head and heading down the stairs, hoping that his mum had left the car keys in the dish.

***

She woke up late in the morning, fully regaining consciousness this time. She had been in and out of it all morning, not fully comprehending what was going on around her before falling straight back to sleep again but this time she stayed awake, and turned to look over to left side, fully expecting to see her mother or her father there but not…

“Fitz?” she asked, wondering what he was doing there, eating a box of mince pies. “What are you?”

“Your dad phoned me,” he offered, smiling down at her, as she tried to sit up, careful not to pull out the nasal cannula as she did so. “Said you were here so me and mum came down, wanted to make sure that you were alright.”

She smiled up at him because what he had done, she hadn’t expected him to. He had gone out of his way, just for her. “Oh Fitz… you shouldn’t have.”

He shrugged. “S’no big deal. Its what friends are for, isn’t it?. Mum’s down in the canteen with your parents, having something to eat…” He passed over the box of mince pies. “Do you want one, there’s also shortbread.”

Jemma looked at the box that Fitz was offering her, and then shook her head. She still wasn’t feeling the best. Her chest wasn’t as tight any more, but it was still somewhat uncomfortable. “I’m sorry,” she told him as he set it back on the bedside table. “I still don’t feel the best…”

“Nah,” Fitz told her, shaking his head. “Nah, it’s okay. I understand. So you’re feeling better.”

“I am,” she told him. “Thank you so much Fitz, I can’t… I can’t even begin to thank you for coming down.”

“It’s fine,” he told her, smiling. “I wasn’t going to let you spend Christmas alone in here.”

She didn’t want to tell him that she had her family here, that she wouldn’t have been alone because as much as that was the truth, she didn’t want to be alone for Christmas. She had wanted to spend it with him. And now, despite being in hospital, she was spending it with him. She cast a glace at the TV that hung on the wall. “Do you want to see if we can find something to watch?”

She shifted on the bed, making room for him and it only took him a moment to realise what she wanted. He removed himself from his seat, and climbed up into the bed beside her, and it took only a moment for Jemma to curl up next to him, resting her head on his chest.

He wrapped his arm around her, pulling her closer, and grabbed the remote, turning the TV on. It may have been an unconventional Christmas, but it was still an enjoyable one.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks so much for checking this one out, I really hope that you enjoyed it!


End file.
